Visa Partners with Fintech Community in West Africa to accelerate growth of digital payments

On Wednesday 24 July, Visa’s Global President, Ryan Mclnerney hosted a round-table discussion with West African fintech founders and executives.  The event, held in Lagos, Nigeria, presented an opportunity for tech entrepreneurs and innovators to discuss a variety of ideas for promoting growth in the industry and drive the digitization of economies across the continent.

Four leading Fintech operators Flutterwave, ExpressPay, Innovectives and OneFI participated in the meeting.

Speaking at the roundtable, Mr. Mclnerney said; “It is amazing to see how fintechs in Africa continue to leverage their unique abilities to transform consumer and commercial payment experiences locally. These companies are a testament to how local businesses can grow, and Visa intends to provide them with a platform to create connections and opportunities to scale and succeed.”

Visa continuously evaluates, partners and invests in companies that have the potential to advance digital payments in Africa. Recent fintech investments includes the Series A round in PayStack, a strategic partnership with PalmPay to drive financial inclusion across Africa and the launch of GetBarter App in partnership with Flutterwave.

“This roundtable is part of Visa's ongoing effort to encourage and foster initiatives that will promote innovation and spur technological advancement in digital payments.  We will continue to give a voice to the collective strength of local innovators who are creating impact and helping improve their communities. Our aim is to connect new players and ideas with our network partners, so that we can deliver intuitive and relevant payment, banking and retail experiences to customers and merchants,” Mclnerney added.